Technology transfer from universities and public research institutes to firms in Brazil: what is transferred and how the transfer is carried out

This article presents an analysis of the technology transfer process from universities and public research institutes to firms in Brazil. In particular, this study is concerned with the role of patents in this process. Although there is a certain enthusiasm in promoting technology transfer offices to manage university patents, the importance of patents to the technology transfer process is not yet well understood in literature. We conducted a survey with leaders of research groups from universities and public research institutes that developed and transferred technology to firms. The results show that patents are one of the least-used channels of technology transfer by universities and public research institutes. But the importance of the channels varies according to the type of technology transferred and to the firms' industry.